Chapter 126
Alone
「Umm, if I recall correctly...」
To
head to the location I was informed of beforehand, I was walking through the
Imperial Capital Elmoregrad while staring intently at the map I'd been
given. After about ten minutes of walking and puzzling over it, my destination
finally came into view.
「Hey Riku, take this batch of
building materials over there.」
「Got it!!」
The
one walking with a heave-ho while carrying a massive amount of square timber
was our class's mood maker, Onda-kun. Looking around, I could see the
figures of a few other male students besides him. What they were wearing wasn't
the school uniforms they had on when I brought them here, but rather brownish
coveralls that served as the standard equipment for laborers in this other
world.
「Alright, short break!」
「Phew, the foreman is a demon as
always...」
「Yo, looks like you're doing well.」
「—Wait, why is Masaru-kun
here!?」
It
should have been obvious to anyone watching that I was approaching, but Onda-kun
feigned realization and put on a surprised expression. The five classmates
working here also trailed after him and gathered around. —That's right, they
were currently working here. To put it roughly, Onda-kun and the others
were in the construction business. In this world, you can build houses using Earth
Magic, and apparently, they turn out sturdier that way, but having a mage
build a house takes a considerable amount of time and money. Because of that,
ordinary houses like this are still built by carpenters. Onda-kun and
the rest were currently in the midst of learning the carpentry trade while
working here as apprentices.
「It's already been a week, huh...
Time sure flies.」
「How is it? Have you gotten used to
the work yet?」
「Yeah, pretty much. It's a lifesaver
that I have strength thanks to the Hero Buff.」
That's
right, a whole week had already passed since my classmates arrived in the Empire.
At first, everyone had started working while grumbling, but perhaps they found
it surprisingly enjoyable once they tried it, because no one came to complain,
and no one took an oath of non-labor, saying they didn't want to work. Thanks
to the Gifts and Growth Buffs we received upon arriving in this
world, our stats are higher than the average person around here, even if we've
barely leveled up. Because of that, it's easy for us to demonstrate our
strength in physical labor like this. It seems they're being kept a close eye
on as promising newcomers.
By
the way, because Emilia had vetted their workplace beforehand, the wages
are somewhat high, and the working environment is incredibly ethical and
stress-free. They're receiving a wage level that allows them to save up a solid
amount even after paying for their inn and three meals a day. Therefore, the
people who initially said they would work elsewhere came running back to this
workplace in less than a day. As of now, all the male classmates, with the
exception of Mitsukawa-kun, are working here. It's a cozy
workplace with high wages!
「Well, we have to work for ourselves
at least enough to earn what we need to survive. After all, in this world,
we're already of age.」
At
Onda-kun's words, the male classmates nodded. They're the fairly
responsible type, so their plan seems to be to solidify their foundation by
living in this Empire first, and then take a few more risks to become Adventurers
once things stabilize. Ah, by the way, Mitsukawa-kun is an exception. It
seems he's already registered as an Adventurer in the Empire
under a fake name and is running wild. I feel like it's impossible for me to
stop him, so I plan to just let him do as he pleases. Having a Growth Buff
and easily becoming stronger is an advantage that the other people of Aristella
lack. Although there's a risk to one's life, there's no doubt that those who
can utilize their strengths in that field are more likely to succeed in the
end. I basically don't intend to interfere much, but when push comes to shove,
I'm not averse to doing a Power Leveling session or two.
「Alright then, I'm going to head over
that way now.」
「Yeah, take care.」
Parting
ways with Onda-kun and the others, I headed towards the heart of the
Imperial Capital, closer to the center than before. As I slipped through the
alleys and approached the main street, the foot traffic gradually increased. It
was what you'd call a high street, quite bustling despite it being before noon.
Facing the street was an exceptionally fancy-looking shop—my destination, Jin-san's
Patisserie. Through the glass, I could see the figures of my classmates. Among
them were the girls, all dressed in slightly cuter clothes than usual.
「Ah, Masaru-kun!」
「Yo.」
Entering
the shop while returning the greeting to one of my classmates, Miku's
friend, Kishikawa Airi-san, I found the interior to be as lively as
ever. Jin-san's Patisserie was, exactly as the name suggested, a baked
goods shop managed by the store manager, Jin-san. The spacious interior
allowed customers to purchase goods on the first floor, and if you went up to
the second floor, there was an eat-in space where you could enjoy your
purchases while drinking black tea and the like. It was glass-fronted so you
could see inside from the outside, and the setup was on par with shops in
Japan. It gave off an open and airy impression that you rarely saw in Aristella.
「Oh my, is that Masaru-sama?」
「It's been a while, Jin-san.」
I
shook hands with an elderly, gentlemanly man—the store owner, Jin-san.
He had his white hair slicked back and a mustache that stretched tautly to the
left and right, his posture so perfectly straight that it belied his age.
「Well now, I am turning quite a
profit thanks to you, Masaru-sama... I am truly grateful.」
Jin-san was someone with enough desire
for self-display to put his own name in the store's name, but his skills were
recognized even by Emilia. The fact that his business was thriving in a
location facing the high street, where land prices were surely expensive, was a
testament to his high-level baking skills and business acumen. I had asked him
as a favor to recreate Earth's Western confectioneries in this other world.
Having said that, the only things I knew how to make were pudding and pound
cake, and even my knowledge on those was pretty vague, but the girls handled
that part skillfully. There were few girls who disliked sweets even if they are
bad at fighting, and thanks to them enthusiastically conducting trial and
error, a pound cake using dried fruits had finally been commercialized. Thanks
to that, they were apparently raking in the cash, and Jin-san was
clearly in a better mood compared to the last time we met.
「As expected of myself... At this
rate, opening a branch store soon might actually be possible... My own talent
frightens me...」
While
offering a wry smile at Jin-san, who was fiercely singing his own
praises, I gave a small bow. The reason I gave him the recipes was partly
because I wanted to eat delicious sweets even in Aristella, but also
because I wanted him to look after the girls. There were about six female
classmates in total, but among them, the only one who voluntarily raised her
hand to level up or make a living out of fighting was the highly motivated Kudo-san.
That being the case, the rest of the girls needed a place to work. However, Aristella
had a rather strong tendency toward male chauvinism, or rather, female laborers
were often casually subjected to things like sexual harassment, making it a
working environment that Gen Z girls like them simply couldn't tolerate.
「Hehehe... As I thought, it is always
young women who are at the center of trends. If cute girls serve customers,
women who come aiming for that will appear, and from there, we can capture an
even broader customer base...」
What
Jin-san was looking at as he laughed and said this was the store's
maid-like uniform. They took existing maid outfits, added lace and other
things, and shortened the overall skirt length. Simply put, it looked like a
costume for a maid in a maid cafe. Thanks to this uniform, which was adopted
based on Kishikawa-san's proposal, foot traffic had apparently increased
by over twenty percent compared to before its adoption. Not only were there
window shoppers coming just to see the uniforms, but there were even demands to
buy them.
「Ah, Manager, if it's alright, we'd
like to do a trial run for a new baked good next time...」
「Yes, please go right ahead. The
innovation of you Heroes is wonderful. Of course, once it is officially
adopted into our store's lineup, I will be sure to pay you a proper margin.」
In
that regard, for better or worse, Jin-san is a professional who is only
interested in himself and his shop. On top of that, because this shop bears the
sign of being purveyors to the Imperial Household, dangerous customers rarely
show up, creating an extremely open work environment where the girls can
utilize their knowledge from Japan to freely voice their opinions. Upon asking
around, it seemed multiple products proposed by the girls had already been
adopted, and I could certainly tell that the products on sale looked more
delicious than the last time I visited. Cookies with chunky almonds mixed in
looked completely on par with the ones in Japan.
(Just
like I discussed with Emilia before, perhaps a future will come where
one of the girls runs her own shop, or gets entrusted with a branch of Jin-san's
store.)
While
pondering such things, I began my survey, asking if anyone had any complaints.
Then, Kudo-san sharply raised her hand.
「Yes! I want to go adventuring soon
too!」
「Umm, could you wait just a little
longer? I am thinking about it, you know.」
「Really? Don't you lie to me, Kazuno.」
「H-Hey, I'm really not lying!」
Poked
in the side by Kudo-san, her sweet scent made me instinctively back away
with great force. Because my Agility stat was too high, I moved at an
incredible speed. It was fast enough to make the bangs of the girls around me
flutter upwards with a whoosh. I can usually control it, but when I let
my guard down like this, there are moments where my absurd stats accidentally
slip out. It seems playing the part of the "good grief" protagonist
who pretends to be ordinary is impossible for me.
「Anyway, I'm thinking of finding a
good time for all of us to go sometime next week.」
「Ehh... Are we doing it together with
Onda and Shimokawa and the guys?」
「Of course we are.」
「Being the only girl surrounded by
guys is an absolute no for me.」
「Even if you say that...」
If
I'm going to do Power Leveling, I want to match the timing with Onda-kun and
the others so there is no sense of unfairness. But it's true that being in a
reverse-harem situation as the only girl among the male students might make her
feel awkward. ...Though I feel like Kudo-san wouldn't really mind that
sort of thing anyway.
「A-Anyway, we'll talk about this later!
See ya!」
「Ah, he ran away! Wait, Kazuno!」
Because I'm currently busy traveling all over the place, I haven't been able to properly look for suitable hunting grounds. I intend to do it properly once this upcoming meeting with the demons—which seems to be the biggest hurdle right now—is over, so I'll have her bear with it for now. Like that, I hurriedly left the shop and used my Home Gift to head straight for the Grust Kingdom. Ah, by the way, the reason Miku isn't accompanying me is because I've asked her to provide emotional support and such for the people who recently arrived in the Empire. I'm having her move around all over the place, working hard as the social lubricant between the people of the Empire and our classmates, and occasionally speaking with Her Majesty Emilia. I decided to leave those things, which only someone with strong communication skills can handle, to her. Therefore, in exchange, I intend to do what I can do.
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